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A Penny for Your Thoughts

Author

Listed:
  • W. Walker Hanlon
  • Stephan Heblich
  • Ferdinando Monte
  • Martin B. Schmitz

Abstract

How do communication costs affect the production of new ideas and inventions? To answer this question, we study the introduction of the Uniform Penny Post in Great Britain in 1840. This reform replaced the previous system of expensive distance-based postage fees with a uniform low rate of one penny for sending letters anywhere in the country. The result was a large spatially-varied reduction in the cost of communicating across locations. We study the impact of this reform on the production of scientific knowledge using citation links constructed from a leading academic journal, the Philosophical Transactions, and the impact on the development of new technology using patent data. Our results provide quantitative causal estimates showing how a fall in communication costs can increase the rate at which scientific knowledge is exchanged and new ideas and technologies are developed. This evidence lends direct empirical support to an extensive theoretical literature in economic growth and urban economics positing that more ideas can emerge from communication between individuals.

Suggested Citation

  • W. Walker Hanlon & Stephan Heblich & Ferdinando Monte & Martin B. Schmitz, 2022. "A Penny for Your Thoughts," NBER Working Papers 30076, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    • Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:30076
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    Cited by:

    1. Melillo, Andrea & Pascali, Luigi & Prem, Mounu & Trento, Francesca Asja, 2026. "The Republic of Letters and the Rise of the West," CEPR Discussion Papers 21562, Centre for Economic Policy Research.
    2. Xian Jiang, 2023. "Information and Communication Technology and Firm Geographic Expansion," CESifo Working Paper Series 10452, CESifo.
    3. Réka Juhász & Claudia Steinwender, 2024. "Industrial Policy and the Great Divergence," Annual Review of Economics, Annual Reviews, vol. 16(1), pages 27-54, August.
    4. Sebastian Ottinger & Elizaveta Zelnitskaia, 2025. "Post(-Mongol) Roads to Path Dependence," CERGE-EI Working Papers wp807, The Center for Economic Research and Graduate Education - Economics Institute, Prague.
    5. Berger, Thor & Prawitz, Erik, 2024. "Collaboration and connectivity: Historical evidence from patent records," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 139(C).
    6. Andrea Melillo & Luigi Pascali & Mounu Prem & Francesca Asja Trento, 2026. "The Republic of Letters and the Rise of the West," Working Papers 1579, Barcelona School of Economics.

    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • N9 - Economic History - - Regional and Urban History
    • O3 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights
    • R1 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - General Regional Economics

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